Not because he’s been gone … but because he just didn’t have that fire we grew up respecting. Even though his last album, Relapse, debuted at number one, ended up selling almost 2 million domestic copies and ultimately got him two Grammys, we thought there was something missing.

Then he came along by making an appearance on Drake’s “FOREVER” track to shut us the hell up.

The freestyle above has got us excited again. While he may not have anything to prove to any of us, it’s good to see that he’s keeping the ball rolling.

Note: in case you didn’t notice, Marshall lays down some fire over the beats to Drake’s “Over” and Lloyd Banks’ “Beamer, Benz or Bentley.”

We’re going to be 100% with you and admit the fact that we have NO IDEA who Badio (pronounced “bad-e-oh”) is.

Hold on, hold on. We’re not done.

Allow us to be 1,000% with you and promise the fact that when we find out more … we’re all about to have a new favorite rapper. It’s incredible how you can point out a future star within 20 seconds of first hearing a song.

Hailing from Woodbridge, VA, it looks like Badio is currently running the books over at the University of Arizona. The young artist’s MySpace reads:

I’m addicted to success, I drink 40s. I like jockey boxer-briefs and V-necks and I’d die if I wasn’t making music.

Sounds like the first of these two was actually set to release with Keys’ album As I Am back in 2007. Produced by Chad Hugo of N.E.R.D., the track was swept under the rug and finally released over the weekend.

Both of these songs are rumored to make the final cut for Lupe’s upcoming album, LASERS.

Here’s to the hardest working man on tour right now.

Moreover, here’s to the hardest working blog on the internets right now!

Cudders slows it down a bit, reminiscent of “The Prayer” as he rhymes over the Dre and Snoop track “Imagine.” Be on the lookout for another CuDi jam later today as he promised one to celebrate the day he loves most.

Also, I got a new joint, Ima put out on 4/20 for y’all. Its called “Daps and Pound,” might change the title but i think its sound pretty illy. It’ll only be available on my site.

So look out for that, and the final copy of “The Sky Might Fall” is finished and will be released soon. CuDi claims it’s nothing like we heard when it first leaked. He also spoke about his debut album, Man on the Moon: The Guardians, saying:

The last couple days I’ve been workin wit Will.i.am, APL, and Jean Baptiste out here in LA and all I can say is, please, please get ready. My album will be nothing short of friggin awesomely wicked. I’m enhancing my sound one track at a time, sooo don’t try and figure out how the albums gonna sound cuz you wont be able to imagine.

Well there’s not much else to be said about that. The album will be dope and thankfully not his only release.

Don’t know about you, but we have been waiting for Big Sean to drop this mixtape for a while now. And in the slight oversight, missed the fact that it actually did drop when we leaked two tracks the other day. Download HERE.

We’ve been talking about this mixtape and dropping leaks for weeks now, but the real thing has finally dropped. Wiz goes in real hard on this 22 track mixtape.

He displays some definite versatilty with techno-charged songs like “Get Sum,” and he also throws some curveballs at you with some despised autotune, and even a little H-Town slowed down flow on some tracks. But as always you can expect to hear some fire music.

Don’t sleep on the Wiz or the mixtape. Download HERE or buy it through his MySpace page if you feel so compelled. Tracklist after the jump as always kids.

We bring you the third leak off Wiz’s upcoming mixtape Flight School. We all know Younh Khalifa is a dope freestyler, but he is also quite adept at incorporating techno/trance beats into his music. Everyone remembers “Say Yeah.”

This track is anthem about “getting some”, in this case that means money. And in these times, who isn’t trying to get some dollars.

Flight School is dropping later this month..hopefully. Below peep a live performance of the new song.

The Swedish indie pop artist is thankfully a successful product of the blogosphere. Much like many of today’s artists, she made a name for herself by posting songs on her MySpace page.

Her quirky singing voice is often backed by a bass that’s heavy enough to make it tingle in all of the right places. Catchy hooks and labido-enticing beats. What more can you really ask for.

After a well celebrated debut album (entitled Little Bit) in 2007, Ms. Li now finds herself signed to an independent label by the name of LL Recordings and making rather regular appearances on the Swedish MTV.

Don’t sleep on this one, ladies and gentlemen. As much as we love saying “we told you so,” we’re more partial to uttering …